ROILO GOLEZ, Philippine National Security Adviser (2001-2004). The world and the Philippines as Roilo Golez sees it. With focus on national security, geopolitics, geo-security, economics, science and government.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Golez: Hopeful about a framework for the South China Sea Code of Conduct? This is welcome news, although the situation has become virtually moot and academic if the objective is to restrain China's aggressive behavior.

Golez: Hopeful about a framework for the South China Sea Code of Conduct? This is welcome news, although the situation has become virtually moot and academic if the objective is to restrain China's aggressive behavior. China's massive reclamation and construction activities highlighted by three artificial islands in the Spratlys area - each with a three kilometer runway, each with the potential to be the home base of 24 J-11 flankers - are almost completed. A Code of Conduct would be more a code of conduct to prevent the other countries from upgrading their facilities in the South China Sea to at least counteract China's military complex there.

One of the militarized artificial islands, Mischief Reef, well within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, is 558 hectares big, bigger than Camp Aguinaldo, Camp Crame and Sangley Naval Station combined. Twice bigger than the Bonifacio Global City. That is what the future Code of Conduct, envisioned since 2002, would not anymore cover. And we seem to be congratulating ourselves for good diplomacy in persuading China to finally seriously consider a Code of Conduct, after China's tricky artificial island building spree within our EEZ that the present DFA, officially, has not complained about.

“We’ve been talking about a code in the last 15 years, nothing has happened. In 2002 nothing really happened substantively except speeches. But now we’re on the road to really looking into it seriously … and we are now in a position, hopefully, to embark on actual serious negotiations on a code,” Manalo said.

"He said improving relations between China and the Philippines spurred efforts toward the conclusion of a code of conduct.
“I think bilaterally the President’s visit last October to China opened the doors that we were able to restore political and economic relations to their previous state. There’s a general increasing trust among the countries and it was in fact China who really made a big move forward to begin discussions,” Manalo said.

“Asean has always been ready to discuss (the code of conduct) and finally China has come forward with a very positive attitude,” he added.

He explained that a declaration of conduct signed by Asean and China in 2002 simply established principles.
“Ultimately the code (of conduct) will be the big document,” Manalo said.